Is Obi-Wan Kenobi More Powerful than Darth Vader?

Spoilers ahead for the season finale of Disney’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.

One of the best things about Obi-Wan Kenobi has been being able to see Vader at full force. No longer do we have the pre-peak Anakin Skywalker, or the aging father of Luke Skywalker. In Obi-Wan, we finally see Darth Vader at his terrifying prime.

How, then, does Obi-Wan beat the chosen one? Is Obi-Wan Kenobi More Powerful than Darth Vader?

Darth Vader is Clearly the More Powerful Force User

Between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan, it’s pretty clear that Vader is far more powerful with the force. After all, he pretty easily used the force to stop a starship from taking off in the previous episode, and manhandled Kenobi throughout the majority of the show.

However, we have seen before that when put into a bind, Kenobi is able to leverage incredible power through tapping into the force. We saw this with Darth Maul in Episode I. Even though Maul was probably the better duelist, Obi-Wan is able to summon powerful emotion and finish him off.

Obi-Wan’s Resourcefulness and Connection with the Force Took Vader by Surprise

There just isn’t any way that in an even fight Obi-Wan beats Vader. He doesn’t beat him in Episode 4, and he only barely beats him in Episode 3. What happens in the finale of Kenobi is quite simple – Darth Vader is taken by surprise.

Vader does not expect Kenobi’s powers to have come back even stronger than they were before. He’s surprised by the force push that sends him reeling, and likewise unready to handle the onslaught of bolders being sent at him by Obi-Wan (although, didn’t he just do the same thing? Why couldn’t he force push those boulders away.

Anyways, things are made worse further when Obi-Wan takes advantage of Vader’s biggest disadvantage – that being his suit.

Once his suit takes him out of commission, there’s not a whole lot Vader can do to content with Obi-Wan.

Vader’s Arrogance is his Downfall

It’s not hard to believe that Vader would underestimate his former master. After all, he did just manhandle him the last two times they met in battle.

Had he been less arrogant, he might have been able to anticipate Obi-Wan’s sudden increase in power, and matched it with his own. After all, Obi-Wan is still one of the most powerful Jedi around, even if he really is not on the same caliber as Darth Vader. Had Vader brought his “A” game and not slipped up, he could have gone toe-to-toe with his old master, and would have been the victor in the end.